Tories defeated on Europe posted by Richard Seymour

In yesterday's parliamentary debate, Ed Miliband pointedly compared David Cameron to John Major. He knew what he was doing. In a few hours, Labour would opportunistically join forces with the Tory right to inflict a damaging blow to Cameron's authority in parliament, and compel him to seek a cut in the EU budget. Labour is trying to relive the mid-1990s, recalling that it was Europe that shattered Tory unity and alienated its centrist voters.
In fact, things are potentially much worse for Cameron. Unlike Major, who positioned himself as a centrist on European monetary union, someone who could hold together a divided party, Cameron has always been a Eurosceptic. He stood for party leader and for prime minister as such. As a result, his bland, managerial approach to the EU is severely alienating the Tory base and backbenchers, whose rebellions exceed those faced by Major...